Deutsche Telekom is planning to build a public and private LTE network as part of its membership of an organisation exploring innovations in the manufacturing sector.
The network will be located the RWTH Aachen university and will be open to members of Centre Connected Industry (CCI).
The German operator joined the association to see how LTE can be used to improve the manufacturing sector. It comprises scientific organisations and industrial companies.
Deutsche Telekom’s network will deliver in-building coverage to factory sites as well as outdoor connectivity to the CCI facility.
The operator said it would help develop and test prototypes based on the use case requirements of CCI members.
Alex Jinsung Choi, SVP Strategy and Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom, said: “For a more flexible manufacturing capability in the smart factory of tomorrow, our industrial customers demand secure, reliable, high performance network solutions tailored to their specific needs.
“We look forward to a close cooperation with our partners in the CCI to research and co-create solutions, based on Deutsche Telekom’s dual slice Campus Network technology, to enable digital and automated operations.”
Christian Maasem, Director Centre Connected Industry, said: “The appropriate use of modern communication networks such as LTE and especially 5G will be a major competitive advantage for the data-driven, connected economy in the future.
“Together, we will not only explore the potentials of mobile industrial applications, but also make them tangible and usable in real pilots.”